Major improvements for customers to be phased in across northern network

A RAFT of improvements for customers across the Northern and TransPennine networks have been scheduled for a phased introduction from the end of next year.

Work underway on the construction of the Ordsall Chord in Manchester, which will enable all three of the city’s major stations to be linked up for the first time. NETWORK RAIL

All part of Northern Programmes – the largest railway upgrade in the north of England since the Victorian era – Network Rail, together with TransPennine Express (TPE) and Northern, has said that the changes expected in December 2017 will be delivered in phases.

These include the opening of a new station at Low Moor, new EMUs with extra capacity running between Manchester and Preston via Bolton, and new direct services to Manchester airport from across the north. The latter will be made possible by the completion of the Ordsall Chord, thereby linking Manchester’s three stations for the first time.

Additional improvements to services will be implemented in 2018, such as the ongoing major upgrade of Liverpool Lime Street station and an hourly direct service from Newcastle to Manchester Airport, thus providing an extra service each hour between Leeds and Newcastle.

Read more in the December issue of The RM

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